Teachers must now pass mandatory literacy, numeracy tests

Aspiring teachers will be barred from working in Victorian classrooms if they fail a literacy and numeracy test under a tough new approach to teaching standards announced by the Andrews government.

Previously, about one in 20 new teachers approved to work in Victorian state, independent and Catholic schools had failed, or not yet sat the compulsory test.

Those teachers received provisional registration and were required to pass the test within two years.

But Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said that from the start of this month, graduates will no longer get provisional registration to teach in schools if they have flunked the test or not sat it.